Email Marketing Automation and Behavioral Targeting

“Businesses that use marketing automation to nurture prospects experience a 451% increase in qualified leads.”

Beautiful, Smart, Relevant Email Marketing

Choose the email template that is right for your campaign from a selection of stunning, professionally designed templates that render beautifully across all devices. Easily add vibrant imagery, videos, surveys and other interactive elements using our drag and drop editor.

Our streamlined interface and smart delivery system make it easy to send, manage and track campaigns. Powerful automation and behavioral targeting features give you the ability to send highly targeted and timely automated campaigns.

Social Security cost-of-living allowance increases for 2017 is just 0.3 percent

Your Social Security check will increase by a measly 0.3 percent next year.

That’s according to the Social Security Administration, which announced its 2017 cost-of-living adjustment on Tuesday. The “COLAs” are based on increases in the Consumer Price Index.

The agency also will be taking more. It said it will increase the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax to $127,200 from $118,500, starting in January.

Social Security checks

The announcement comes months after the agency’s board had predicted that the adjustments payable next January would range from zero to 0.7 percent. The Medicare Trustees report in June had predicted a COLA increase of 0.2 percent for Social Security.

The average monthly Social Security benefit in January will be $1,360, $5 more than now, according to the government.

News of the tiny increase doesn’t come as a surprise for financial planners, who already held out pessimistic expectations.

Stretching a dollar

Financial advisors have said that they aren’t counting on Social Security COLAs as a retirement income boost, especially since 2016 was a year with no increase for retirees.

As a result, advisors are looking for other ways to help older clients generate income, including increasing allocations to stocks.

“If inflation happens, whether Social Security recognizes it or not, you’ll have to increase retirement income,” said Benjamin Brandt, a fee-only financial planner at Capital City Wealth Management in Bismarck, North Dakota.

“It’s not coming from your pension or from Social Security,” he said. “It’s coming from your investment portfolio.”

The effect of having a tiny-to-flat increase in Social Security is much more jarring for people who largely depend on the government program.

“The government is looking at CPI, and if they see no inflation, then there’s no increase,” said Gregory L. Olsen, a partner at Lenox Advisors in New York.

“Seniors who rely on it are in a position where if their rent goes up $50 a month, but Social Security increases by only $5 a month, what will you do without now?” he asked.

There aren’t very many ways for retirees to squeeze out an extra dollar from otherwise “safe” pots of cash. Rates on three-year certificates of deposit are still below 2 percent. and savings accounts are crediting interest in the neighborhood of 1 percent.

Medicare woes

Next year, a handful of retirees will contend with increased costs for Medicare Part B, the insurance program that applies to doctor’s services and outpatient care.

A “hold harmless” provision buffers most retirees from increased Medicare Part B expenses in a year when the increase in the premium is higher than the Social Security COLA. These people will not pay higher Part B costs.

You can expect to pay higher Part B premiums in the following situations:

You’re eligible to enroll in Medicare for the first time in 2017.

You’re enrolled in Medicare, but you aren’t collecting Social Security.

You’re already subject to Medicare premium surcharges because you didn’t enroll on time and now have to pay a penalty.

Keep a lid on your costs by enrolling for Medicare when you’re eligible. You can sign up during the initial enrollment period, which starts three months before your 65 th birthday and ends three months after.

If you miss that first enrollment window, you will be subject to a 10 percent late fee for each 12-month period you went without coverage. You will pay this surcharge for the remainder of your life.

Where do the candidates stand?

As retirees and their financial advisors grapple with the prospect of another year with flat Social Security income, the presidential candidates have had little to say about the program at the last two debates.

But Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton spelled out their positions in an AARP Bulletin on June 27.

There, Clinton’s campaign said she was against cutting COLAs, would push back against privatization of the program, and fight efforts to increase the retirement age. She has also supported taxing high earners’ income beyond the current cap of $118,500.

In that same AARP Bulletin. Trump’s campaign said he would work with Congress to ensure “we have a pro-growth agenda in place,” but did not provide details on specific changes to Social Security.

“If we are able to sustain growth rates in GDP that we had as a result of the Kennedy and Reagan tax reforms, we will be able to secure Social Security for the future,” his campaign said.

What is Business Insurance?

Business insurance protects your investment by minimizing financial risks associated with unexpected events such as a death of a partner, an injured employee, a lawsuit, or a natural disaster.

Business Insurance is a broad name for different coverages available to the business owner to protect against losses and to insure the continuing operation of the business.

Major Types of Business Insurance

General Liability Insurance

A standard insurance policy issued to business organizations to protect them against liability claims for bodily injury and property damage arising out of premises, operations, products, and completed operations; and advertising and personal injury liability.

Commercial Auto Insurance

Covers cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles owned by or operated within a business. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage and/or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise therefrom. Commercial auto insurance may also offer financial protection against theft of the vehicle and possibly damage to the vehicle, sustained from events other than traffic collisions.

Commercial Property Insurance

Covers risk of loss to an organization s buildings or personal property. Usually includes buildings, personal property of the insured business or business owner, personal property of others on site and in the insured s possession. Coverage can be provided on an all risk or specific perils basis.

Commercial Umbrella Insurance

Commercial Umbrella insurance is liability coverage that is in excess of specified other commercial insurance policies and also potentially primary insurance for losses not covered by the other policies. When an insured business is liable to someone, the insured’s primary insurance policies pay up to their limits and any additional amount is paid by the umbrella policy (up to the coverage limit of the umbrella policy).

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance (PLI), also called professional indemnity insurance (PII) but more commonly known as errors omissions (E O) in the US, is a form of liability insurance that helps protect professional advice and service-providing companies from bearing the full cost of defending against a negligence claim made by a client, and damages awarded in such a civil lawsuit. Professional liability coverage sometimes also provides for the defense costs, including when legal action turns out to be groundless.

Business Owner’s Package

A Business Owner’s Package (often called a BOP) is an insurance policiy that combines protection from all major property and liability risks in one package. It typically combines all the basic coverages required by a business owner into one bundle. It is usually sold at a premium that is less than the total cost of the individual coverages. Business Owners Policies usually target small and medium-sized businesses and typically contain business interruption insurance, which provides reimbursement for up to a year of lost revenue resulting from an insured property loss.

Workers Compensation

Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee’s right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence.

Group Health Insurance

Group health insurance coverage is a policy that is purchased by an employer and is offered to eligible employees of the company (and often to the employees’ family members) as a benefit of working for that company. A group health insurance plan is a major part of many employee benefits packages that employers provide for their employees.

Group Life Insurance

Group life insurance (also known as wholesale life insurance or institutional life insurance) is term insurance covering a group of people, usually employees of a company, members of a union or association, or members of a pension or superannuation fund. Individual proof of insurability is not normally a consideration in the underwriting. Rather, the underwriter considers the size, turnover, and financial strength of the group.

Group Disability Insurance

Group Disability Insurance is a type of group insurance that provides regular income replacement payments to an insured member of the group in the event of an eligible disability resulting from illness or injury. Coverage is generally offered in two types: short-term disability (STD) or long-term disability (LTD).

Supplemental Insurance

Supplemental insurance is extra or additional insurance that you can purchase to help you pay for services and out-of-pocket expenses that your regular insurance does not cover.

Small Business Specialists

For general information on doing business with the Department of Homeland Security, please contact the OSDBU small business advocates.

The individuals listed below are available to provide advice to small business owners on individual procurement opportunities and how to do business with their individual component. Please visit www.dhs.gov for information on “non-procurement” issues. Capability statements and other marketing materials should be sent to the small business specialist(s) at the individual components.

Work together using the Cloud

MyOffice is a subscription based ‘cloud’ service that’s been designed around the unique needs of the smaller business.

It combines diaries, contacts, email, tasks, file store, reminders and notes into a set of online collaboration tools to help your team work together more effectively, and it’s all intuitive – so there’s no big learning curve.

All your data lives in one place, on our servers, and you access it over the internet using a variety of devices. e.g. PC, Mac, tablet, mobile. Using MyOffice you can log on and work from anywhere.

No capital investment or technical expertise is required on your part. We take care of all operational aspects including security, round-the-clock support, software upgrades, server administration, and data backup. leaving you with more time to concentrate on the important things – like running your business. Plus you can easily scale your cloud usage up and down as your business demands change.

Designed for Business

High on the requirements list when it comes to business apps is probably the security and integrity of your data. With MyOffice all your data is stored securely on our servers located at NewNet Plc in the UK, and we go to great lengths to ensure that the privacy and integrity of your data is never compromised. plus you won’t find adverts anywhere in our apps.

Every business is different and MyOffice allows you to add your own data fields to customise the apps to your particular needs. That, coupled with features such as an ‘Offline’ capability, a comprehensive audit trail and true multi-user access, and you have a robust system designed for professionals. Above all, it’s intuitive and uncomplicated.

It’s Your Data

It’s your data and it can only be accessed by users in your account. It’s impossible to unintentionally share your data with the public

We don’t profile your account, send you adverts or pass your information to third parties.

Your subscription includes a Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android and Web Browser Apps all for one price

In all but the Web Browser App you can use MyOffice in ‘Offline’ mode when you can’t connect to the internet

You can customise the application by adding your own ‘user defined fields’

There’s no limit to how much Calendar, Contact, Email, Task and Note data can store

There’a a full audit trail, you can see what, when and who added, updated or deleted records.

SUPPORT IS FREE. If you have technical problems or you want help configuring MyOffice, just call or email us.

Affordable

We have one price – and it includes everything. There are no extra charges for the functionality that you use and there are no charges for the amount of data you hold.

Our subscriptions are based solely on the number of users that you have and there are generous discounts for multiple users.

As a tool to get your business running, MyOffice represents exceptional value for money.

Customer Service

Our Testimonials speak for themselves – many refer to exceptional customer service. We want satisfied customers who refer MyOffice on to others.

Unlike many ‘Cloud’ platforms, you can actually talk to us. We’re happy to guide you through the features that are relevant to your business and help you customise the system to meet your requirements.

Learn more about

Things you should know

Conditions, fees and charges apply. These may change or we may introduce new ones in the future. Full details are available on request. Lending criteria apply to approval of credit products. This information does not take your personal objectives, circumstances or needs into account. Consider its appropriateness to these factors before acting on it. Read the disclosure documents for your selected product or service, including the Terms and Conditions or Product Disclosure Statement, before deciding. Unless otherwise specified, the products and services described on this website are available only in Australia from Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 AFSL and Australian credit licence 233714.

Frequently Asked Questions – Errors and Omissions

What is errors and omissions insurance? E O insurance is a form of professional liability coverage that supplements your businessowners policy (BOP). It covers losses and legal expenses resulting from client lawsuits, claiming that you made errors or acted negligently in the performance of your professional duties. E O insurance also can be used to fight slander, libel, and breach of contract.

Specialized forms of errors and omissions insurance are available for a variety of licensed professions, including accountants, architects, bankers, contractors, engineers, home inspectors. insurance agents. information technology professionals, lawyers, real estate agents and appraisers. notaries. and many others.

Save on Business Insurance – Get a free quote for your business from the leading agents in the industry.

How do errors and omission policies work? E O policies typically have a claim limit and an annual limit, based on the policyholder’s liability exposure. The claim limit is the maximum that will be paid for any single event, while the annual is the maximum that will be paid in any one year. Typical errors and omissions insurance claim limits range from 250,000/ 500,000 to 2,000,000/ 4,000,000.

What are the benefits of Errors and Omissions insurance? E 0 insurance safeguards your business from catastrophic loss in the event of a client lawsuit, covering both legal expenses and judgments against you. Remember even baseless claims against your business can require a legal defense. Protecting your business’s reputation can require significant funds and can even bankrupt your business. Avoid this unfortunate reality by investing in errors and omissions insurance.

How do I purchase E O insurance? Use the Internet to request errors and omissions insurance quotes online. Often prices for similar errors and ommissions policies from different carriers will vary.

E O insurance is a serious investment. Select highly rated providers graded A to AAA by companies such as A.M. Best and Standard and Poor’s. Carefully consider your professional liability exposures before selecting a E O insurance policy. There are many industry-specific and specialized forms from which to choose.

What is insurance agents’ errors and omissions insurance? E O insurance for insurance agents and brokers provides protection against the following common client claims: that the customer was unfairly denied coverage, provided inadequate, inappropriate, or financially unsound coverage, or not properly informed about coverage changes, limitations, or termination.

What is home inspectors’ errors and omission insurance? Home-inspector E 0 insurance covers losses and expenses generated by client claims of error, omission, or negligence during the inspection of a residential property. Most suits against home inspectors result from property liabilities that were not properly documented or visible at inspection.

What is real estate agents’ errors and omissions insurance? Real-estate agent E O insurance covers losses and expenses generated by client claims of error, omission, or negligence during the listing and sale of a residential or commercial property. Failure to negotiate a sale and misrepresentation of a property’s physical condition are the most common causes of suits against real estate agents and realtors.

What is appraisers’ errors and omissions insurance? Appraiser E O insurance covers losses and legal expenses generated by client claims of error, omission, or negligence during the appraisal of a residential or commercial property. A common cause of appraisal litigation: misappraisal, particularly, the undervaluing of a property. This can be due to appraiser error or a general decline in property values.

What is notaries’ errors and omissions insurance? E O insurance for notaries covers losses and legal expenses generated by client claims of error, omission, or negligence during the notarizing of important documents, such as contracts and deeds. Many suits against notaries are the result of individuals falsely identifying themselves through signature forgery and false identification, leading to notary error.

how to franchise a business

Barking Mad provides top quality dog holiday care in a home environment, rather than at a kennels. We have hosts with whom dogs stay whilst their owners are on holiday. It works very well – you get to meet lots of people and dogs and organise your own schedule.

Industry focus

Use your experience to help people develop their true potential

Last year a report from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills reported that in 2015, the last year for which they have figures, the UK spent 45.4bn on training and development. In this exclusive article. LMI discuss why this is a good opportunity for individuals with the appropriate business skills and life experiences. To find out more about this lucrative industry. Read more..

UK Franchisor Interviews

Exclusive interview with Nick Lyons, No Letting Go

Nick Lyons knows all about franchising from both sides of the coin! He previously was a franchisee for an estate agency franchise before deciding that he wanted to start his own business in the lettings industry and take it down the franchise route. In this exclusive interview we speak to Nick on how he started his business, successes to date, plans for the future and his advice for anyone looking to franchise their business.

Master licenses

Are you looking to expand your investment portfolio? Are you interested in becoming a master franchisee for an international brand? If so we will help you to understand how you can be involved in this exciting investment opportunity. Read more about buying a master franchise

Ask the experts

Franchising can be a very complex area and to make sure you find the right franchise for you, or set up your own franchise correctly, is it imperative that you do as much research as possible. This includes seeking professional help and advice. Our Ask the Expert section allows you to post questions regarding funding a franchise, legal issues, accountancy, consultancy and general franchise advice. Post your questions to our panel of experts

Raising finance

It is a big step from deciding to start a franchise to actually opening your doors for business. For many, one of the biggest hurdles is approaching the bank for finance. Read more about funding a franchise

Settle down in the USA

Every year more and more people move to the United States of America and are successful in the immigration process. One of the most successful methods to achieve a permit to work and stay in the USA is through buying a business and creating employment.

FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES SPOTLIGHT

Featured master franchise

Mexcla is a ‘fast-casual’ Mexican style eatery founded in 2015 in Sao Paulo, Brazil that serves high quality fresh food. The Mexcla brand is owned by Bloomin’ Brands, a Florida-based hospitality company which owns five other restaurant brands including Outback Steakhouse® and Abbraccio Cucina Italiana™. Bloomin’ Brands hopes to grow Mexcla worldwide and is looking for franchisees in the UK to help it enter the British market.

Rollover rethink: 4 good reasons not to roll 401(k) funds into an IRA

Rollover rules Friday, 6 Jun 2014 | 12:00 AM ET

It seems that just about every financial company pitches the benefits of rolling your 401(k) plan into an individual retirement account, or IRA, after leaving your former employer. Clearly, there are many situations where this could be beneficial.

But there are many other times when it may be best to keep the 401(k) intact and not transfer the funds to an IRA.

John Lund / Drew Kelly | Blend Images | Getty Images

Here are four situations when it may be best to keep the 401(k) with your previous employer:

1. You are between ages 55 and 59½. By now, most of us know that we must be at least 59½ before we can take money out of a retirement plan and not get hit with penalties. If we withdraw money before that age, we get slapped with a 10 percent early withdrawal penalty. (One exception to this rule is separation from service.)

If you are at least 55 years old when you leave your employer or will turn 55 sometime in that calendar year, you can access your 401(k) without early withdrawal penalties. You don’t have to wait until age 59½, and you can pull money from the plan as many times as the employer’s plan allows (typically, several withdrawals per year).

Once the 401(k) is transferred to an IRA, the age 55 rule is eliminated and withdrawals are restricted until age 59½.

Oftentimes, people will roll their 401(k) to an IRA without even knowing about this rule. Many financial advisors will neglect to mention this to their clients, because they have a financial incentive to receive commissions from an IRA that they can manage rather than leaving the money in the 401(k).

Keep in mind that this separation-from-service rule applies only to the retirement plans from the employer you leave after age 55. It does not apply to other 401(k) plans that may exist from previous employers.

2. Your plan consists of highly appreciated employer stock. For many of us, the majority of our 401(k) plans are invested in funds and stable value accounts. But for some, a large portion of their 401(k) funds is invested in their employer’s stock.

A great tax-planning opportunity known as Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) exists for those who have a significant amount of company stock within their 401(k). NUA works like this: Suppose you paid $5,000 for your employer’s stock and now the value has risen to $20,000.

The best 401(k) plans Friday, 6 Sep 2013 | 1:46 PM ET

Rather than roll the stock into an IRA, you choose to have the shares sent directly to you or your brokerage account. In this scenario, you would incur taxes on a $5,000 retirement distribution, but you wouldn’t be taxed on the gain until you sold the stock. If and when the stock is eventually sold, the gains would be treated as capital gains rather than ordinary income.

There are a number of things to keep in mind before utilizing the NUA strategy: First, many 401(k) plans don’t enable an employee to purchase their stock; rather, the plans have a “fund” that mimics the performance of the stock. It’s very important to verify that your plan provides actual company stock.

Second, having stock distributed rather than rolled over to an IRA can result in a hefty tax bill. A large distribution could push you into such high tax rates that the current taxes would offset any savings that NUA could offer.

Careful planning is necessary when evaluating this technique, but it can work wonders in the right situations.

Your Wealth: Weekly advice on managing your money

3. Your 401(k) plan has adequate options. Many people complain that their 401(k) doesn’t provide enough investment options. If you are lucky enough to have a plan with plenty of good options and you are adept at picking and managing your investments, it may be best to leave the money in the original plan.

A 401(k) often can access institutional pricing that everyday investors cannot, which results in fees that may be lower than a similar portfolio constructed within an IRA.

Read More Maximize a 401(k) in 8 steps

4. You could benefit from help but don’t know a good financial advisor. Some people are great at managing their 401(k) and wouldn’t benefit from hiring a financial advisor. But it’s been my experience that most people would benefit from having some help with their retirement investing.

The challenge that I’ve seen is that for many, it’s hard to tell the good financial advisors from the not-so-good ones. If you don’t already have a relationship with a good advisor, you may be sold an IRA that contains expensive investments that may not perform as well as your 401(k).

Most 401(k) plans these days contain target-date funds. These are funds that are designed to be more aggressive while you are younger but become more conservative as you get closer to your retirement age.

While using these funds may not be a perfect strategy, for many they can work just fine. A target-date fund would certainly be a better option than rolling your 401(k) balance into a lousy financial advisor’s IRA.

There are many good reasons to roll a 401(k) to an IRA, and most investment firms will spell out those benefits. Just keep in mind that there are times when it may be of greater benefit to keep the 401(k) intact.

For questions on applying for federal assistance and aide contact: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 800-621-3362 or to apply for disaster assistance online at www.fema.gov

For questions on obtaining flood insurance, what to do before, during and/or after flooding, or to report flood claims (for property owners who purchased a flood policy) contact: National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) at 800-638-6620; www.floodsmart.gov

United Way: 2-1-1: For Disaster or Emergency Service Information

Market of Last Resort – If you are unable to secure property insurance coverage through the voluntary market, please contact the RI Joint Reinsurance Association at 800-851-8978 for assistance.

Lead Liability – For questions on mitigation of properties in accordance with the Lead Hazard Mitigation Act, please contact the RI Housing Resource Commission at 800-570-0768 or http://www.hrc.ri.gov/index.php

Long Term Care Insurance

Life Insurance and Annuities

NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator Service – Helping connect consumers to life insurance policies they didn’t know their deceased family members had.

Medical Malpractice

Market of Last Resort – If you are unable to secure medical malpractice insurance coverage through the voluntary market, please contact the Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association of RI at 401-369-8245 for assistance.

Workers Compensation Insurance

Health Insurance

Please also see the website of the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) at www.ohic.ri.gov